At the beginning of the 20th century, Europe is living in peace and prosperity. The “Belle Époque” is an outgrowth of previous important historical events and developments. The networks that are created and which evolve funnel both people and their products, tangible and intangible. It is within this multi-layered world that sound recording and sound reproduction is invented. Early record labels send mobile crews literally all over the world to record local musicians. The range of the repertoire is endless. Cosmopolitanism in large urban centers favors polystylisms and polymorphisms. Colonialism, revolutions, conflicts, refugee flows; the theater, cinema, radio, photography, orchestras’ tours, but also circulations in all kinds of commercial channels in a world that evolves dynamically and anisotropically, form a complex network of “centers” and “peripheries” in alternating roles setting musical idioms in motion, both literally and figuratively. The network in which the Greek-speaking urban popular song participates, constantly conversing with its co-tenants, is magnificent. Discography has already provided important tools in understanding the relationships that developed between “national” repertoires. The result of this ongoing research is “Cosmopolitanism in Greek Historical Discography”.

Naturally, in the large urban centers of the Ottoman Empire around the Mediterranean Sea, the “conversations” of the Greek-speakers with their Turkish-speaking Muslim “co-tenants”, the Catholic Greek-speakers, the Armenians, the Sepharadi and Ashkenazi Jews, the Levantine Protestants, and the Europeans and the Americans, were more than intense. Very often, the scope of this network extends to the Balkans, to Eastern and even to a part of Central Europe. Especially regarding relations between Orthodox and Muslims, the relevant evidence demonstrates the musical exchanges between them and elucidate an ecumene where everyone contributed to the great musical “melting-pot”, and where everyone may draw from it, as well as redeposit it, in a new form, with a reformulated text and its meaning, with sometimes clear and sometimes blurred references to its pre-text, until someone else pulls it out again, through the “melting-pot”, so that it becomes clear that there is no end in this recreational and dynamic process where fluidity prevails. A case that comes from such repertoires is the recording "Marche - Vatan Charkissi II".

According to the data collected so far, the tune was recorded three times in Turkish historical discography:

- "Vatan marche", Musique du Palais Impérial, Constantinople (Istanbul), March 20, 1909 (Gramophone 12586b - 2-10205 & re-issue in USA by Victor 63057-A)
- "Marche - Vatan Charkissi II", Musique de la Marine Imperiale Ottomane, Constantinople (Istanbul), 1908-1909 (Odeon Cx 1963 - 46235/2), current recording
- - "Ey Vatan Ey Ümm-i Müşfik", Şeker Hanım, Constantinople (Istanbul), July 16, 1910 (Favorite 4050t - 1-59210). See here track 7 at 15':31''.

In the musical score entitled "Vatan Silistria" and subtitled "Nouvel hymne national Ottoman", which is included in the edition "Les Annales politiques et littéraires", 02.05.1909, sel. 418, No. 1349, Rifat Bey (Constantinople 1820 - Constantinople 1888) is mentioned as the composer. The harmonization was done by N. Baldi, who is also known in the Greek-speaking discography.

(Many thanks to Rasid Firatli for pointing out the above musical score).

The tune can also be found in the Greek-speaking repertoire; more specifically, in the patriotic song
"Ymnos eleftherias - Aporo Makedonia", with lyrics reffering to the Macedonian Struggle. The song was recorded by G. Kandilakis in 1908 -1909 in Constantinople (Istanbul) for Odeon (Xc 2072 ? - 46250).

The lyrics and the music of the song, in Byzantine notation, were recorded by Georgios Vasilas and were published in  1908, in Constantinople, by the journal Mousikon parartima Formingos (2nd period, 4th year, 1st issue, p. 13).

Research and text: Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis